Rema Amawi
Biology and Chemistry Coordinator, Assistant Professor of Science
Rema Amawi
Biology and Chemistry Coordinator, Assistant Professor of Science
Bio
Dr. Rema Amawi is the Biology & Chemistry Coordinator at RIT-Dubai, bringing over 16 years of diverse teaching experience to the role. She has expertise across a broad spectrum of scientific disciplines, including Analytical & Organic Chemistry, Biochemistry, Cellular & Molecular Biology, and Anatomy & Physiology. Her extensive knowledge and dedication to education have made her a key figure in shaping the academic development of students in these fields. Dr. Amawi has played a pivotal role in expanding the science course offerings at RIT-Dubai, enriching the curriculum to meet evolving academic and industry needs. She has also fostered strong research collaborations, both locally and internationally, involving students and faculty in cutting-edge projects, further bridging the gap between academia and industry.
Dr. Rema Amawi completed her bachelor's degree in Biochemistry at Wichita State University in Kansas, and went on to earn her master's degree in Chemistry from Baylor University in Texas. She then pursued her PhD at the prestigious Munsell Color Science Laboratory (MCSL) at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) in New York. Her doctoral research explored the intricate relationship between pill colors and a diverse range of demographic factors, focusing on how these elements influence human perception and expectation.
Her primary research interests lie in the psychological and perceptual effects of color, particularly in the context of medicine. This includes investigating how pill colors, emotional responses to color, the meaning ascribed to different colors, and various color associations shape the perceived efficacy of medications. In addition to her work on color science, Dr. Rema is also focused on integrating technology-driven tools, such as machine learning, to evaluate the impact of natural oils on Alzheimer's disease progression. By leveraging data-driven approaches, she aims to uncover potential therapeutic benefits of natural remedies in slowing or managing neurodegenerative diseases.
The above research resulted in the development of a tool to help identify the most suitable pill color for pharmaceutical companies and medical practitioners to better design and prescribe medications, with the hope of maximizing the drug's expected efficacy on patients and increasing compliance rates. The tool can be found on her website: http://www.colorinpharma.com.
Select Scholarship
Selected peer-reviewed book chapters:
Francis, D. V., & Amawi, R. M. Myco-architectures for future sustainable habitats in extreme environments. In: The Fungi: Microbial Interaction, Diversity, and Impact on Crop Health. Springer (Accepted book chapter).
Selected conference presentations/papers:
Mohsin J., Jafri W.Z., Hasan W., Amawi R.M., Francis D.V. Date seed valorization for sustainable food systems: Development of a natural brown colorant as an alternative to synthetic additives. DIFSC 2025.
Peter, P.; Amawi, R.M.; Al-Hussaeni, K.; Ashmawy, N.S., 2025. An Empirical Approach Toward Understanding the Impact of Essential Oils on Alzheimer’s Disease Progression. IEEE (ICDM). <LINK>.
Amawi, R.M. & Murdoch, M., 2022. Relating Color Associations to Pill Colors and Expected Efficacy. CIC30. <DOI>.
Selected Magazine articles:
RU'YA, 2026, A Machine Learning Approach to Evaluating the Impact of Natural Oils on Alzheimer's Disease Progression <LINK>.
Psychology Today, 2022 - Could Pill Color Matter? <LINK>.
STEM Magazine, 2021 - The Pandemic Has Shown Us That We Can Put No Boundaries on Education <LINK>.
Selected peer-reviewed journals:
Amawi, R.M. and Ashmawy, N.S. (2026) GC-MS based metabolic profiling of essential oils from Citrus paradisi, Lawsonia inermis, and Ruta graveolens and assessment of their acetylcholinesterase inhibitory potential. Front. Chem. 13:1761973. <DOI>.
Amawi, R.M.; Al-Hussaeni, K.; Keeriath, J.J.; Ashmawy, N.S. A Machine Learning Approach to Evaluating the Impact of Natural Oils on Alzheimer’s Disease Progression. Appl. Sci. 2024, 14, 6395. <DOI>.
Al-Hussaeni, K.; Karamitsos, I.; Adewumi, E.; Amawi, R.M., 2023. CNN-based Pill Image Recognition for Retrieval Systems. Pharmacy. Applied Sciences. <DOI>.
Amawi, R.M. & Murdoch, M., 2022. Understanding Color Associations and Their Effects on Expectations of Drugs’ Efficacies. Pharmacy. <DOI>.
Amawi, R.M. & Murdoch, M., 2022. Effects of pill colors on human perception and expectation of drugs' efficacy. Color Research and Application. <DOI>.